'Parasite' makes history at the Oscars

The South Korean film "Parasite" made history at this year's Academy Awards, becoming the first non-English-language film ever to win the Best Picture prize, a landmark triumph for world cinema that shattered a long-standing barrier at Hollywood's most prestigious ceremony.

The film, a sharp and genre-defying social satire about class division, had already won acclaim and major awards around the world, but its sweep at the Oscars, where it also won Best Director and other honours, marked a watershed moment and a powerful validation of international filmmaking.

For the ceremony, long criticised for its insularity and its focus on English-language productions, the recognition of a Korean film represented a significant and symbolic shift, acknowledged by the audience's enthusiastic response and the historic nature of the win.

The film's success was widely seen as reflecting a broadening of cultural horizons, as audiences and critics increasingly embraced stories from around the world, aided by the global reach of streaming platforms that had made international content more accessible than ever.

Its director, in his acceptance remarks, encouraged audiences to overcome what he called the barrier of subtitles to discover the wealth of cinema from other cultures, a sentiment that resonated widely and captured the moment's significance.

The triumph of "Parasite" was celebrated as a victory not only for Korean cinema, which had been producing acclaimed work for years, but for the principle that great storytelling transcends language and borders. It marked a turning point in the global film industry and in the recognition of international cinema at the highest levels, and it stood as one of the defining cultural moments of the year, a sign of an increasingly interconnected and open-minded global audience.